Secure cloud management agent

ABSTRACT

A system for providing a secure management agent for high-availability continuity for cloud systems includes a computer processor and logic executable by the computer processor. The logic is configured to implement a method. The method includes receiving operating parameters and threshold settings for a plurality of computing clouds. Secure relationships are established with the plurality of computing clouds based on the operating parameters. Data is mirrored across the plurality of computing clouds. Threshold data is then monitored for the plurality of computing clouds to maintain a continuity of resources for the plurality of computing clouds.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to cloud resource management,and more specifically, to providing a secure management agent forhigh-availability continuity for cloud systems.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. As the popularity and numberof cloud computing providers increase, clouds have become a mainstay forthe storage of computing and data storage, which may include the storageof mission critical data and their applications.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a system forproviding a secure management agent for high-availability continuity forcloud systems is provided. The system includes a computer processor andlogic executable by the computer processor. The logic is configured toimplement a method. The method includes receiving operating parametersand threshold settings for a plurality of computing clouds. Securerelationships are established with the plurality of computing cloudsbased on the operating parameters. Data is mirrored across the pluralityof computing clouds. Threshold data is then monitored for the pluralityof computing clouds to maintain a continuity of resources for theplurality of computing clouds.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention. For a better understanding of the invention with theadvantages and the features, refer to the description and to thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion ofthe specification. The forgoing and other features, and advantages ofthe invention are apparent from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud system that is established and monitored by asecure cloud management agent (SCMA) according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a cloud system for establishing and maintaining securerelationships according to an embodiment; and

FIG. 6 depicts a process for establishing and maintaining securerelationships according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed herein are directed to providing a securemanagement agent for high-availability continuity for cloud system. Anaspect of embodiments includes receiving operating parameters andthreshold settings for a plurality of computing clouds (hereinafter“cloud” or “clouds”). Secure relationships are then established with theplurality of clouds based on the operating parameters and data ismirrored across the plurality of clouds. Threshold data is monitored forthe plurality of clouds. Accordingly, the continuity of resources forthe plurality of clouds is maintained.

With conventional cloud providers, if a user or business has data storedin a cloud or uses applications provided by the cloud, and the cloudgoes down, the user or business will lose access to the data. In today'sworld, it is unacceptable for user and businesses to lose access totheir data or their applications. In addition, cloud users mayexperience poor performance while accessing their clouds withconventional cloud providers. This can be due to either networkcongestion or cloud site workload. Additionally, with the continualevolution of computing clouds and storage clouds into more robustobjects, which provide services to a broad range of customers and endusers, reliable data security is a necessity. Without reliable datasecurity, platforms for storage and computing will be vulnerable todisruptions.

An emerging model enables a company to outsource for computing andstorage needs by contracting for cloud bandwidth to meet the needs ofthe business and eliminate the burden of data center management,internal data processing staff, and facility management generallyassociated with departmental information systems management. End usersof cloud services are not typically concerned about the physicallocation of their data or computing power. However, proximity to thecloud and cloud services will have a measurable impact on response timesand data transfer latency. The ability to securely connect to theclosest access point and have your data and computing power assigned toyour immediate operational cell becomes a performance and load balancingconcern as well as a data security concern.

Embodiments disclosed herein prevent loss of access to data orapplications provided by public or private clouds due to outages, poorperformance (e.g., network congestion, cloud site workload), and datasecurity breaches. Embodiments disclose a secure cloud management agent(SCMA) for managing, optimizing, monitoring, and modifying networkconfigurations in a wide area network (WAN) and/or Internet so that auser may access a cloud system that meets their specified usagerequirement. Particularly, the SCMA of embodiments may monitor dataincluding, but not limited to:

-   -   Security management    -   Relationship management    -   Thresholds for performance, saturation, loads, response times    -   Policy management (e.g., burst mode, steady-state input/output        (I/O), time sensitive windows of operation such as backup,        alerts and alert status)    -   Predictive diagnostics    -   Cloud health monitoring/policies    -   Failover/Failback (i.e., trigger conditions)    -   Complex event processing of log entries/log management/alerts    -   Load Balancing    -   Distance monitoring/latency alerts    -   Path consistency    -   User or user group usages    -   Preemptive cloud management for code loads, patch installation,        site maintenance, and the like

Embodiments disclosed herein collect data from the SCMA monitors into acloud management database (CMDB). The CMDB of an embodiment may storedata elements collected from managing or monitoring data including, butnot limited to:

-   -   Connections/connection security level status    -   Multi-path and multi-path status    -   Uniform resource locators (URLs) for cloud access (e.g.,        primary, secondary, shared)    -   Preferred paths/preferred URLs    -   Timestamp options/timestamp methodology    -   Generated I/O or packets for        diagnostics/monitoring/heartbeat/status reporting    -   Capacity monitoring (e.g., active connections, active paths,        inactive connections, connection history, I/O traffic by        connection)    -   Log entries/change state condition alerts    -   Load status/capacity monitoring with timestamps at change        intervals.    -   User or user groups cloud usage    -   Max load/minimal load intervals with timestamps

According to embodiments, the SCMA may move large amounts of data, andtherefore, may have multiple hardware assist remote copy enginesinstalled in the clouds as well as in the SCMA.

It is understood in advance that although this invention includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram of a cloud computing node forproviding a secure management agent for high-availability continuity forcloud systems of an embodiment is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is onlyone example of a suitable cloud computing node and is not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality ofembodiments described herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 iscapable of being implemented and/or performing any of the functionalityset forth hereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device, alsoreferred to as a processing device. The components of computersystem/server 12 may include, but are not limited to, one or moreprocessors or processing units 16, a system memory 28, and a bus 18 thatcouples various system components including system memory 28 toprocessor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 may include a variety of computer systemreadable media. Such media may be any available media that is accessibleby computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatile andnon-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments as described herein.

Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,digital video camera 54D, digital audio recording device 54E, and/ordigital still camera 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 may communicate withone another. They may be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, inone or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybridclouds as described hereinabove, or a combination thereof. This allowscloud computing environment 50 to offer infrastructure, platforms and/orsoftware as services for which a cloud consumer does not need tomaintain resources on a local computing device. It is understood thatthe types of computing devices 54A-N shown in FIG. 2 are intended to beillustrative only and that computing nodes 10 and cloud computingenvironment 50 can communicate with any type of computerized device overany type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using aweb browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments are notlimited thereto. As depicted, the following layers and correspondingfunctions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM® zSeries® systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM pSeries® systems; IBMxSeries® systems; IBM BladeCenter® systems; storage devices; networksand networking components. Examples of software components includenetwork application server software, in one example IBM WebSphere®application server software; and database software, in one example IBMDB2® database software. (IBM, zSeries, pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter,WebSphere, and DB2 are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation registered in many jurisdictions worldwide).

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management providescloud computing resource allocation and management such that requiredservice levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning andfulfillment provides pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloudcomputing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated inaccordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; and resource management processing 67.

FIG. 4 depicts a cloud system 400 that is established and monitored by asecure cloud management agent (SCMA) according to an embodiment. Thecloud system 400 of an embodiment may include, but is not limited to, auser input module 402, a SCMA 404, a primary cloud 406, a preferredsecondary cloud 408, N secondary clouds 410, 412, and a cloud managementdatabase (CMDB) 416.

According to an embodiment, an end user may input operating parametersand thresholds into the user input module 402 that the SCMA 404 will useto establish and monitor the cloud system 400. For example, the end usermay input preferences including, but not limited to: (i) which cloudwill serve as the primary cloud 406 (by providing an Internet protocol(IP) address for the primary cloud 406), (ii) whether multiple redundantpaths should be used, (iii) whether there should be a preferredsecondary cloud 408 (if so, by providing an IP address for the preferredsecondary cloud 408), (iv) how many secondary clouds 410, 412 will beused (by providing IP addresses for each of the secondary clouds 410,412), which security features will be used (e.g., IP security (SEC),Transport Layer Security, Secure Socket Layer), and threshold settingsfor various monitors (e.g., a policy manager, a performance manager, acloud health monitor, preferred failover paths, and individual userauthorizations or group user authorizations).

According to an embodiment, the SCMA 404 will utilize the end user inputfor managing, optimizing, monitoring, and modifying networkconfigurations in a wide area network (WAN) and/or Internet so that thecloud system 400 meets the user's specified usage requirement.

Upon the initial power up of the SCMA 404, the CMDB 416 may be createdand initialized with information from the various monitors according toan embodiment. The initial entry information may serve as an initialbaseline until a more accurate baseline can be established by each ofthe monitors. In other words, the CMDB 416 of an embodiment storeshistorical data gathered from the various monitors for use in apredictive analysis of a health of the cloud system by the SCMA 404.

The primary cloud 406 of an embodiment is the main cloud for which theSCMA 404 will be providing services. The SCMA 404 will perform intensivebusiness continuity efforts to keep at least one path open andoperational at all times. If this is not possible, then the SCMA 404will pick a new primary cloud 406 and failover. Prior to failover, theSCMA 404 will begin a process of keeping metadata, as well as the actualdata, so the original primary cloud 406 can be restored once it isfunctional again according to an embodiment.

The preferred secondary cloud 408 may be defined and established by theend user through the SCMA 404. The preferred secondary cloud 408 mayinclude different operating parameters and thresholds such as real-timemirroring. The performance monitor of an embodiment may select thepreferred secondary cloud 408 based on the performance characteristicsthat are the closest match to the primary cloud 406.

According to an embodiment, the preferred secondary cloud 408 may haveits own unique operating parameters and threshold values in the policymanager, performance manager, and cloud health monitor. Thisconfiguration is advantageous because it allows the system administratorto establish different policies for the preferred secondary cloud 408than the other secondary clouds 410, 412. For example, if the preferredsecondary cloud 408 was configured as a real-time mirror, and theperformance of the preferred secondary cloud 408 was slowed by 100milliseconds, the system administrator could be notified. On the otherhand, it may be acceptable for the other secondary clouds 410, 412 toslow by 100 milliseconds since they are not real-time mirrors.

According to an embodiment, the cloud health monitor may be configuredto notify the system administrator earlier, so proactive measures can beperformed before a device or path experiences catastrophic failure. Forexample, transmission control protocol (TCP) packets can be dropped dueto a network problem or device that is overloaded while receivingpackets from other devices. Dropped packets are just one of manyindictors of a network or device problem. Dropped packets must bere-driven and the cloud health monitor could be configured to notify thesystem administrator when the preferred secondary cloud 408 hits athreshold of 10 re-drives in a minute, whereas it might be acceptablefor the other secondary clouds 410, 412 to have 100 re-drives a minute.This lower notification limit provides the system administrator with anearly warning, so they could perform early preemptive actions before thepreferred secondary cloud 408 goes down.

According to an embodiment, there may be 1 to N secondary clouds 410,412 to mirror and backup the stored data and applications of the primarycloud 406, the preferred secondary cloud 408, or other secondary clouds410, 412. According to an embodiment, the number N of secondary clouds410, 412 may be selected by the end user in the user input module 402(i.e., cloud configuration state). Each of the N secondary clouds 410,412 will receive the same priority and preference. The SCMA 404 willprovide services to each of them uniformly.

FIG. 5 depicts a cloud system 500 for establishing and maintainingsecure relationships according to an embodiment. The cloud system 500 ofan embodiment may include, but is not limited to, a user input module402, a SCMA 404, a primary cloud 406, a preferred secondary cloud 408, Nsecondary clouds 410, 412, and a CMDB 416.

According to an embodiment, an end user may input security parametersand thresholds into the user input module 402 that the SCMA 404 will useto establish and monitor security relationships in the cloud system 500.According to an embodiment, an end user may input security preferencesincluding, but not limited to: (i) what type of session layer securityto implement (e.g., transport layer security, secure socket layer), (ii)what type of Layer 3 security to implement (e.g., IP SEC), (iii) a listof user identifications (IDs) who may access the data, (iv) list of userIDs who can update and monitor the user requirements, and (v) a list ofuser IDs who can administer and/or monitor the CMBD.

The SCMA 404 may establish a secure relationship down 1 to N paths fromthe SCMA 404 to the primary cloud 406 using known in the art securityauthentication procedures and protocols. The number of paths usedbetween the SCMA 404 and the primary cloud 406 may be specified in theuser input module 402. Once a secure relationship has been establishedthe CMBD will be updated with the data, timestamp, and other pertinentsecurity-related information. The secure relationship must be maintainedat all times according to an embodiment. If any of the securityrelationships fail then, the CMDB 416 may perform whatever actions theadministrator specified in the policy manager.

According to an embodiment, a secure relationship may be establisheddown 1 to N paths from the preferred secondary cloud 408 to the SCMA 404using known in the art security authentication procedures and protocols.The number of paths used between the preferred secondary cloud 408 andthe SCMA 404 were specified in the user input module 402. Once a securerelationship has been established the CMBD will be updated with thedata, timestamp, and other pertinent security related information. Thesecure relationship must be maintained at all times according to anembodiment. If any of the security relationships fails, then the CMDB416 will perform whatever actions the administrator specified in thepolicy manager.

Similarly, according to another embodiment, a secure relationship may beestablished down 1 to N paths from 1 to N secondary clouds 410, 412 tothe SCMA 404 using known in the art security authentication proceduresand protocols. The number of paths used between the secondary clouds410, 412 and the SCMA 404 may be specified in the use input module. Oncea secure relationship has been established, the CMBD will be updatedwith the data, timestamp, and other pertinent security relatedinformation. The secure relationship must be maintained at all timesaccording to an embodiment. If any of the security relationships failthen the CMDB 416 will perform whatever actions the administratorspecified in the policy manager.

FIG. 6 depicts a process 600 for establishing and maintaining securerelationships according to an embodiment. At block 610, the SCMA 404receives operating parameters and threshold settings for a plurality ofclouds inputted by an end user in the user input module 402. The SCMA404 then establishes secure relationships with the plurality of cloudsbased on the operating parameters, as shown in block 620. At block 630,the SCMA 404 mirrors data across the plurality of clouds based on theinputted operating parameters. At block 640, threshold data is monitoredfor the plurality of clouds. At block 650, the continuity of resourcesfor the plurality of clouds is maintained.

According to an embodiment, the maintaining of continuity includesfailing over to the one or more secondary clouds responsive to athreshold setting for one or more of the clouds being exceeded.According to another embodiment, the maintaining of continuity includesstoring the threshold data in a cloud management database and adaptingand trending the plurality of clouds to prevent an outage based on thestored threshold data.

Technical effects and benefits include preventing loss of access to dataor applications provided by public or private clouds due to outages,poor performance (e.g., network congestion, cloud site workload), anddata security breaches. Embodiments disclose a SCMA for managing,optimizing, monitoring, and modifying network configurations in a WANand/or Internet so that a user may access a cloud system that meetstheir specified usage requirement.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

Further, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects ofthe present disclosure may be embodied as a system, method, or computerprogram product. Accordingly, aspects of the present disclosure may takethe form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely softwareembodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) oran embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may allgenerally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.”Furthermore, aspects of the present disclosure may take the form of acomputer program product embodied in one or more computer readablemedium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readablestorage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic,magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system,apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Morespecific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readablestorage medium would include the following: an electrical connectionhaving one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, arandom access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber,a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storagemedium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a programfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system,apparatus, or device.

A computer readable signal medium may include a propagated data signalwith computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, inbaseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may takeany of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to,electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. Acomputer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium thatis not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate,propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thepresent disclosure may be written in any combination of one or moreprogramming languages, including an object oriented programming languagesuch as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional proceduralprogramming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similarprogramming languages. The program code may execute entirely on theuser's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the present disclosure are described above with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of thedisclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer program instructions. These computer program instructions maybe provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus toproduce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified inthe flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof code, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be notedthat, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in theblock may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, twoblocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantiallyconcurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverseorder, depending upon the functionality involved. It will also be notedthat each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchartillustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedsystems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations ofspecial purpose hardware and computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system, comprising: a memory havingcomputer readable computer instructions and a processor for executingthe computer readable instructions to perform a method comprising:receiving operating parameters and threshold settings for a plurality ofcomputing clouds; establishing secure relationships with the pluralityof computing clouds based on the operating parameters; mirroring dataacross the plurality of computing clouds; monitoring threshold data forthe plurality of computing clouds, wherein monitoring the threshold datacomprises performing a predictive analysis of a health of the pluralityof computing clouds based on historical data of the plurality ofcomputing clouds; and maintaining continuity of resources by dynamicallyassigning pooled resources according to demand, wherein a consumer ofresources may specify location of assigned resources only at a higherlevel of abstraction, without managing or controlling the underlyingcloud infrastructure, for the plurality of computing clouds.
 2. Thecomputer system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of computing cloudscomprises a primary cloud and one or more secondary clouds.
 3. Thecomputer system of claim 2, wherein the one or more secondary cloudsfurther comprises a preferred secondary cloud, which is a real-timemirror of the primary cloud.
 4. The computer system of claim 2, whereinthe maintaining of continuity further comprises failing over to the oneor more secondary clouds responsive to a threshold setting beingexceeded.
 5. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the maintaining ofcontinuity further comprises: storing the threshold data in a cloudmanagement database; and adapting the plurality of computing clouds toprevent an outage based on the stored threshold data.
 6. The computersystem of claim 1, wherein the operating parameters comprise at leastone of which cloud will serve as the primary cloud, whether multipleredundant paths should be used, whether there is a preferred secondarycloud, how many secondary clouds will be used, and which securityfeatures will be used.
 7. The computer system of claim 1, wherein thethreshold settings comprise monitors for at least one of a policymanager, a performance manager, a cloud health monitor, a preferredfailover path, and user authorizations.